Avoiding the Past
by Reseliee
Summary: A story about a girl named Kohaku, and her swordmaster Cloud Strife, as they go on an adventure with a witch, a cat-boy, a mermaid, a demon, and a guy that was created in a lab as they try to escape past events that chase down all members of the group. (Honestly I'm only posting this here because my one-shot turned into a growing 47 page nightmare and I need somewhere to post it)
1. Chapter 1

A/N – This really isn't worth reading. It's literally just something I've written for mine and my friend's enjoyment. And it's posted here because it's easier than sending her multiple emails. I think Wattpad has a private option but let's face it, that site is cancer (okay maybe not but I just hate that site). Honestly, I lost all my confidence to post fanfictions 6 years ago and will probably regret posting this. I didn't bother putting any other characters except OC in the list because, and this is just my feelings about it, I personally hate when I look for fanfictions for certain ships and end up finding things with OCs. Not that I hate fanfictions that include OCs, but sometimes I just want canon characters.

If you really want to read this cringefest, here is a full list of things to be aware of: OCs shipped with canon characters, canon characters that are possibly OOC, a main ship with an age difference of over 10 years (both are of legal age), characters and other things taken from Final Fantasy games (put into the KH category because KH includes FF games and this way going to be purely KH until I went crazy typing), dumb jokes, a bad plot, and my horrible writing.

You have been warned.

* * *

"Please teach me how to use a sword!" the small girl pleaded as she stood in front of a man much taller than her. Well... It was more of a demand than a request. The child's ebony hair was a total mess. Her midnight blue eyes shone with determination. Her clothes were dirty. She was aggressive for a 9 year old. And sadly, Cloud was more aggressive. He slammed the front door in her face... Yet again.

Cloud let out a sigh, running a hand through his blonde spikes and looking at the floor with bright blue eyes.

This damn girl... She was bugging him about this for the past 3 days at least 6 times a day. The girl found him in a tavern after he had just gotten done with a mercenary job. She introduced herself as Kohaku, and told him that she had been looking for him for months. She wanted him to train her to fight with a sword. Why a tiny girl was looking for a mercenary as a sword instructor was beyond him. Of course, he turned her down. He had no interest in babysitting a bratty little kid, or anyone really. He wanted to be left alone. But she was persistent. Even to the point of following him to his cabin in the woods.

Cloud let out a sigh. This kid just didn't get the hint. How dense was she?

After several hours, she knocked on the door again. The blonde man tried to ignore her the second day she was there. That just resulted in her pounding on the door for 5 hours straight.

So to avoid that headache, he got up and answered it again.

When he did the girl went to open her mouth, he cut her off with a cold "Get lost" and started closing the door. The kid threw her full weight on the door to keep it from closing. "Wait!" She yelled. She then held up 3 dead rabbits. "I have something for you! Just hear me out okay?!" she said in a panic. She was once told that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but she was still forceful in her approach.

Cloud sighed. He didn't want to deal with this kid. He was one second away from tossing her into the river a mile away just to be rid of her. But, maybe sitting down with her and explaining to her why she should leave him the fuck alone might actually work. Plus free food was free food. "Fine" he agreed, letting go of the door. The girl fell over and landed on her back, but quickly got up.

"We'll talk but then I want you to leave" he told her. He took the rabbits and went into the kitchen with her following him. He began skinning the dead animals.

"So... Why the hell would you ask me to teach you how to fight?" he asked. "I heard rumors about you being a former first-class knight. And if the rumors are true you're one of the best." she said. He was about to open his mouth when she spoke again. "If you accept me as your student, you won't have to take care of me. I can hunt and take care of myself. I can sleep outside like I've been doing if you want me to. All I ask is for you to give me a chance Mr. Strife."

The man let out a groan. He really, REALLY didn't want to deal with her. He didn't want kids, and wasn't sure if he ever wanted them. So taking in a child didn't appeal to him at all. But he had a feeling she'd keep pestering him until he gave in, or she ends up dying or something.

Then an idea hit him. If he made her lose interest, she's leave and never come back. So, he got the idea to make the "training" too hard for her. He was sure the kid would end up quitting.

"Fine" he told her. The girl's eyes lit up and she sat upright. "R-Really?" she beamed. He nodded, finishing skinning the rabbits and cutting them up. "But I have a few rules" he said. The girl nodded and listened intently.

"Rule 1, no complaints. If you're serious about learning than show it. I don't want to hear that you're tired, or that your arms hurt, or anything like that." he started. He knew that kids complained about everything they weren't comfortable with.

"Rule 2, follow all my orders. If I tell you to run around the house 30 times, you better do it." he continued. Kids hated being told what to do. Combined with rule 1, he was setting her up to be miserable. Those two rules alone might just make her quit out of frustration.

"Rule 3, I will let you stay in my spare room, but you must do all the chores when I'm not home as payment." he told her. Although he wanted her to leave, he didn't want her to end up getting sick by sleeping outside the entire time. Or worse, getting killed by a wild animal or monster. That just wouldn't sit right with him. And no kid liked doing chores. So it wasn't a good thing for her.

"And rule 4, call me 'Cloud' not Mr. Strife or whatever." he finished. This wasn't something to make her quit. He just hated being referred to by anything else.

Kohaku nodded as she listened to him speak. She didn't question his rules at all. And even if she wanted to she wouldn't. Not when he finally agreed to teach her. She looked for him for too long to mess up now. She had to face whatever was put before her. The only way to go was forward.

Because she didn't have anywhere else to go anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Stupid chocobo names are stupid...

* * *

 **10 Years later**

"Hey Cloud! You home!" Kohaku called out. "Quiet down. I'm still hungover." The blonde groaned from the couch. Kohaku rolled her eyes and went into the living room. "I told you not to go out drinking" she stated. The man let out an annoyed groan in response.

The girl never gave up during the training Cloud put her through. She followed all his rules, never giving him any problems. After the first year and a half, Cloud came to accept that the girl was going to be his student for a long time. His plan backfired horribly.

But over time, he grew in enjoy the girl's company. They became good friends, and knew a lot about each other. He eventually found out that she was from the kingdom of Radiant Garden, and that she wanted to learn from him so she could join the kingdom's knights. He still never understood why she went to him, and not the many soldiers that were in that kingdom.

He also found out that her parents were killed in a major attack against an enemy army. So basically a 9 year old traveled nearly halfway across the country, alone, just to find him... Sounds unbelievable.

The girl had grown a lot over the past decade. Her height reached his chest, and she had some muscle to her after the years of learning. Her skin as still a bit pale, despite all the time she spent outside. Her hair was still a bit short, and was a mess. She wasn't girly, and had no issue wearing Cloud's old clothes that were still in good condition.

"Something tells me Tifa gave you more than a few free drinks" she assumed, putting her hands on her hips. "I know today is your birthday and all but you didn't need to go crazy with the beers."

"Yeah, yeah..." Cloud mumbled and sat up. "So, what did you get me this year?" He asked. "I thought you didn't want any gifts from me" she teased. He rolled his eyes. "I told you that the first 2 years you were here. Then I gave up because you kept doing it."

Kohaku chuckled. "Wait here" she told him. She went outside for a moment and came back in with his buster sword. However, it was free of any of the rust or cracks that Cloud was used to. It looked almost brand new.

"You got it fixed?" He asked surprised. She smiled. "Yep. I saved up to get it fixed by a professional last night."

"But I had my sword last night and-... You paid for those drinks in advance didn't you?" He questioned. He thought he left his sword at Tifa's bar again. Kohaku smiled. "Yep. I took it when you were getting drunk" she cheerfully told him. He got up and put her in a headlock. "You little sneak" he chuckled, messing up her hair. She laughed and he let go.

"I know how important this sword is to you, so I thought that having it fixed would be a good gift." She said, then giggled. "You're not easy to shop for you know."

He chuckled and took his sword from her. "Thanks Kohaku" he thanked her. She smiled at him. "You better take good care of it. I had to save up my earnings from my past 3 jobs in order to get that cleaned up."

Cloud nodded and went to his room. Kohaku started her usual morning routine of cooking for the both of them. Over the years, she got used to living with the man. Kohaku would straighten up when she wasn't busy and would cook in the morning since Cloud wasn't an early bird.

Cloud came into the kitchen and sat at the table, resting his head on it. "I guess practice today is out of the question huh?" She asked, pouring out a cup of coffee and placing it on the table next to him. "Yep" he simply replied. He sat up and took a sip of his coffee. "I figured that much. Guess I paid for too many drinks" she giggled, finishing the eggs she was cooking. She put both on the plates, and put them on the table along with forks. She sat in her usual seat and started eating. "I think something's wrong with Chika" she said. Cloud already knew she was referring to her chocobo. "What do you mean?" He asked as he ate. Kohaku played with her food a bit. "She's has a bump on her belly. I hope it's nothing serious..."

"I'll take a look after we eat" he told her. She nodded & continued eating. Cloud remembered her finding that chocobo egg in the woods. He wanted to sell it, but she wanted to keep it. And after another round of her persistent begging and complaining, he gave in. She did take care of it on her own, so it wasn't too bad.

Once they were done they went outside to the small barn they kept their chocobos in. They opened the door and Kohaku instantly became confused when she saw her bird. "Where'd that bump go?" She asked herself. Cloud started laughing as soon as he saw the 3 eggs in the corner in a small nest Chika made. "You silly girl, there was nothing wrong with her. She was pregnant."

"Oh..." She mumbled, feeling like a moron. "Wait... How did she get pregnant?!" The girl looked to Cloud's chocobo, Herb. Obviously, he was the culprit. Cloud went into another laughing fit. "I should've known leaving these two alone was a bad idea."

Kohaku pet Chika's beak. "At least she's okay" she stated, relieved that her chocobo wasn't sick or dying. The bird nuzzled into her owner's hand. Cloud smiled for a moment, then realized something.

He'd have to do something with the chocobo eggs. And he did NOT want to deal with one of Kohaku's fits again. God, if one chocobo egg was bad, hearing her whine about keeping all 3 would be hell.

And what's worse, he'd probably give in again. He always did.

"Hey Cloud, you said your friend has a chocobo farm right? Think we could sell the eggs to him?" She asked. Cloud froze. "Wait... What? You don't wanna keep them?" He questioned. He thought he was going insane. "Well, I highly doubt we can afford to keep 5 chocobos. And raising them is a hell of a chore. So why not sell them?" She stated.

"True... But they can't be separated for the first few months you know. We'd have to leave Chika there until the chicks are independent. Then we can take her back" he told her. "That's fine" she replied. She pet Chika's head. "I'll be okay without her for a bit."

"You sure? I mean, you can ride Herb if you want but when I'm using him you're gonna have to walk" he told her. She shrugged. "I'll live. Besides walking into town is easier when you're 18 instead of 9."

He messed up her short black hair. "True enough. Hard to believe you're this old now. It feels like just yesterday you were a kid running around with a knife. And now you're a warrior with a sword" he said, almost proudly. "I feel like I'm getting old."

"Well, you are 35. No, 36 today. But at least you still look the same as when I met you" she smiled. "Now, I gotta head into town to buy a few things. You stay here and relax okay? Try to do something about that hangover."Yeah, yeah..." He mumbled, watching her take Herb outside. She got onto the large bird and rode off.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: and now, a badly written battle

* * *

"I could get carrots and... No wait he hates carrots ..." Kohaku mumbled to herself as she looked at the produce in the outside market. The town was moderately busy today, so she took her time. The girl let out an annoyed huff. "Why is he so damn picky? Oh! I know! I can make him stew! He doesn't complain about that having carrots"

She picked out the ingredients she needed, then froze, remembering that he made exactly that the day he agreed to train her. She smiled and bought them. She remembered how bad Cloud's cooking was, but she ate it anyway. She didn't want to complain and get tossed out before she even started over something as bad a how the food tasted.

Kohaku tied her bag to Herb's saddle. "There we go. I think that's it" she stated. The bird just yawned. "Excuse me" a voice said. Kohaku turned to see a man with long silver hair, dressed in a first-class Midgar kingdom knight uniform with a long black coat over it. She had a bad feeling when she saw the massive blade he had with him. "Yes?" She asked. "My name is Sephiroth" he introduced himself. "Your name is Kohaku, correct?"

Kohaku held her hand on her blade's handle, a nervous habit of hers. "Yeah. Did you need something?" she questioned. He stepped closer, causing her to grip her blade. "As a matter of fact, yes. You see, a blacksmith told me about a certain sword he was hired to fix, and told me that you were the one who hired him. Mind telling he where you got that blade?"

The man's tone was calm, yet dark. Kohaku knew right away that he was after Cloud. "I found it on a corpse in the woods" she said, her tone was even and serious. Aside from swordsmanship, Cloud also taught her how to control the emotion in her voice. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What did the person die from?" He asked. She knew he didn't believe her. "Well I'm no expert, but I'm assuming he drank himself to death" she told him. Cloud used to have a habit of drinking when he was depressed, but with her nagging and helping he'd only drink occasionally after a mission or celebrating something.

The tall man thought for a moment. "I think you're lying. Why would you get an old sword fixed when you have a perfectly good one on you?" He questioned. She remained calm, showing no signs of being worried. "Hey, I need an upgrade at some point. It's easier to get it repaired instead of getting one custom made to look like it."

"I suppose" he replied. Kohaku went to mount her chocobo when she felt something cold touch her neck. She froze in place. Sephiroth's sword was right against her throat. "I'm not done with you yet Girl" he warned. She took a step back from Herb, the man's blade following her. "Where is he?" he demanded. "Where's who?" She asked. _'Just act innocent until he backs off'_ she mentally instructed herself.

"Cloud Strife. You were reported to have his blade, you hide your emotions like him, and you're wearing what looks like his old clothes" Sephiroth said, clearly mad at her attempt to act like she didn't know. "I bought these" she told him, hoping he would fall for that at least. It was true that Cloud gave her the clothes that wouldn't fit him anymore, but they showed no signs of belonging to him, or anyone really. Whoever this Sephiroth was, he knew Cloud too well.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?!" He snapped. She took a step back and quickly took out her sword, knocking his away from her and the chocobo. Herb squawked and backed up. Even the bird knew this could get ugly.

The girl got into her defensive stance. Her blade was a standard broadsword, though it had a slot in the hilt specifically for materia.

Sephiroth smirked. "Your fighting stance is like his too. He's been teaching you hasn't he? Funny, I thought he was a lone wolf. Unless you're his lover or something" he said. She gripped her sword tighter. Her face turned a shade of red from both embarrassment and anger. The silver haired man noticed. "If you didn't know Cloud you certainly wouldn't be making that face" he teased. Fuck! She let her anger show! Fuck fuck fuck!

"I could beat Cloud, so a little girl like you doesn't stand a chance. Even if you learned everything from him you wouldn't have enough strength." he told her. He got into his fighting stance. "You're better off just giving up now and coming with me, but if you want to get hurt I'll certainly fight you."

Kohaku stood ready as Sephiroth made the first move. She held her sword above her and blocked his blade. He looked like a skinny guy, but damn he was strong. She pushed his sword into the air with a hard shove and charged at him. He jumped back before she even got within a foot of him. That sword... He could attack her at a distance and give himself enough room to move away if he needed to.

Kohaku attacked him, but he blocked her and pushed her back. She felt herself lose her balance at the same time Sephiroth was about to swing at her from her left side. She let herself fall, dodging the attack and shocking Sephiroth. She kicked Sephiroth's sword away from her and quickly got up in time to block his next attack. Cloud had always told her to never fall in a fight, but she had a few tricks up her sleeve. Sephiroth glared at her as their swords ground against each other.

"The more you protect him the worse it will be for you" he growled, putting more pressure against her blade. She struggled to hold his back. Even using only one hand to fight, he was much stronger than her. "Right now you're looking at 2, maybe 3 years in jail for being involved with that traitor. But if you don't surrender right now I will personally make sure you're executed alongside him." he threatened. She could tell he was serious.

Kohaku glared back at him and pushed her sword with as much strength as she could. "Then so be it. I'd never betray Cloud, even if you threatened to send my soul to hell!" She growled. Sephiroth kicked her in the stomach and she hit the building behind her hard. She groaned at the pain and felt blood drip out of her mouth. She held the wall as she struggled to get up, panting.

Sephiroth walked closer. "Really? One kick and you're ready to pass out? Pathetic" he taunted. She took a deep breath before charging at him with her sword. He blocked her. Their blades clashed again, but her sword snapped his! The broken blade flew into the air and impaled the roof of a nearby street stand. Sephiroth jumped back before he was cut. He was shocked to see that her sword was glowing blue. It was magic, he knew that much. But that was new to him.

His shock was quickly replaced with anger, then a sudden pain. He was so focused on her sword, he didn't notice the knife she threw that was now in his side. "You little bitch!" He screamed, holding the wound. Kohaku quickly put her blade away and mounted her chocobo. She didn't want to risk staying there any longer. That last move took all the energy she had left. She was extremely lucky to have even hurt him a little.

Aside from swordsmanship, Cloud tried to teach her defensive magic. But, the girl was one of the unlucky few who wasn't able to form magic into any of the basic elements. What she was able to do was channel her raw magic energy, or mana into certain things that could conduct said energy. Her sword was made from a magic conducting metal, so she could force her mana into the blade and make it sharper.

She rode in the opposite direction of the cabin to throw him off. She nearly knocked a few people over as she tore through town. Once she got far enough she took the long way home, ignoring the pain in both her back and stomach.

When she got home she nearly collapsed as she opened the door, her adrenaline gone at this point. Cloud dropped his book and ran over to her. "Are you okay?! What the hell happened?!" He yelled, concerned as he saw the dried blood on her face, dirt all over, and several scratches. "S-Someone is after you Cloud" she told him. He made her sit down on the couch. "Are you hurt?" He asked. "A little, but I'll be fine" She replied.

She explained everything that happened. When she was done he sighed. "That bastard... We need to leave. If he knows the area we're in he'll find us within days" he told her. She nodded. That guy was trouble. If Sephiroth came with several first-class knights... Well they wouldn't stand any chance. It was best they left.

They both went to pack what they needed. Kohaku met Cloud outside as soon as she was done. He had Herb, and Chika with him. "What about her eggs? She asked. "I brought the eggs and Chika to my friend's ranch. Chika refused to stay there and was okay to leave her eggs there. Guess she cared about you more" he said. Kohaku hugged her chocobo. "You're the best."

Chika chirped happily. Cloud attached his buster sword to the holster on his back and got on his chocobo. Kohaku did the same thing. And soon they were off.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N – a chapter just for explaining part of the plot... how nice...

* * *

It was already after sunset when they slowed their pace down. Cloud used a weak light spell to illuminate the map he was reading. "So um... Where are we headed?" Kohaku asked. She had been following his lead the entire time. "I have no idea yet. I just wanted to get away from there" he told her. She was a little annoyed that he didn't plan that out, but got over it after a minute or so. It was a rushed decision after all.

"Hey Cloud... I know you're sensitive about your history being a knight but... Why did you leave?" she asked. She tried to ask him about his past as a knight once before, and he got mad about it. So she was really hesitant to ask about the thing that probably made him hate the Midgar kingdom so much.

"It's... A long story Kohaku... But now that you're involved, you should know. It would be wrong of me to keep this a secret from you now" he said, putting the map away. "All the knights in the Midgar kingdom have a stone implanted in their bodies called a Mako stone. They increase someone's strength and magic abilities times 3. I've told you this before." he explained.

She nodded in response.

He continued. "However... that wasn't the only thing the kingdom did. Certain first-class knights where given something else. They had a angel, or goddess, or demon, or something inhuman trapped in the basement of the castle. They called it Jenova. They had a lab down there, and that's where they would experiment on those knights. Jenova was kept in a special tank, always sleeping. She could regenerate any parts taken from her. Even her heart."

Kohaku shivered. This Jenova thing sounded horrifying.

"I was unlucky enough to be one of those knights they picked. I was experimented on a lot more than the others because my body could handle it. They took pieces of Jenova and put them inside me. Some of my organs and pieces of flesh were replaced with hers. As a result, I could heal faster. And my strength was increased even more." he told her.

"I'd hate to know what more parts of that thing could do to a person..." she commented.

Cloud looked at the ground. "Well... Sephiroth the closest thing to her... You see, they actually cut out Jenova's uterus and put it in another woman. And that woman had Sephiroth. He's half of that monster..."

 _'Shit... As if that guy wasn't scary enough on his own...'_ she thought. She felt a chill down her spine just thinking about that possibly being a half-god or whatever type of creature Jenova was.

"And then... I found out the worst part..." he exhaled. Kohaku looked at him in shock. "How could it get any worse?!" she exclaimed.

"Apparently the kingdom planned on making more soldiers like Sephiroth and was plotting to use them to take over as much territory as they could. I couldn't allow that. As a knight it was my job to protect my kingdom, not destroy others. So I tried to destroy Jenova. But like I said, the damn thing could regenerate. However there was something I could do. You see, there was a jewel inside her where she would always start regenerating. It wouldn't break, but when put into a small container it wouldn't regenerate."

Kohaku looked at him in shock. "You took it and ran away didn't you?" she asked. He nodded, "That's right."

He reached into his pocket and held up a jar so small that it was only 3 or 4 inches tall. Inside it was a round, silver-ish crystal. Light moved around in it, like it was somehow alive. It was only a stone, but Kohaku felt scared when she looked at it.

"Without the Jenova stone they can't make their super-soldiers." He explained, putting the item back into his pocket.

Kohaku nodded, looking at the ground. "Honestly... If I was you in that situation I would've done the same thing."

He smiled. "I figured that much. You wanted to be a knight for your home kingdom right? I had the same ambitions as you when I was young."

Kohaku went silent. She had wanted to be a knight. But honestly, she had forgotten about that dream while she was training with Cloud. Now it just didn't appeal to her anymore.

Cloud noticed her silence and looked at her. He knew she was doing some serious thinking. So he didn't continue talking. Whatever it was, she'd figure it out.

After a few hours they stopped at a small area just off the main trail. Someone had made a fire-pit there some time ago, so they just piled some wood in there. Cloud used a fire spell to summon a flame, and soon they had their campfire. Kohaku sat in the dirt by the fire, leaning on Chika's back as she laid behind her. Cloud sat next to her with Herb's head on his lap as he pet his head.

"I don't think I want to be a knight anymore" she finally spoke. The blonde stopped petting his chocobo and looked at her. "What? But that was the whole reason you wanted me to teach you to begin with" he replied. The girl let out a sigh. "I know but... I just don't want to anymore. I mean, I've been living with you for about 10 years. And I'm used to it. And who wants to be stuck with all those rules? Basically what I'm saying is... life right now is better than being a knight."

Cloud went back to petting Herb, feeling the bird's soft feathers. "But with me you'd be in danger" he sighed. She was a great fighter. She could rise through the ranks of knights in no time at all. She didn't even have to do that, she could have any life she wanted if she went out on her own. But if she continued to travel with him, the knights of Midgar would be after her too. And that... it had a lot of bad endings...

Kohaku yawned and snuggled into Chika's feathers, using the chocobo as a big pillow. "So? I don't care. You're important to me and I want to protect you." she admitted, shutting her eyes. "Wake me up in a few hours so I can look out okay? You need to sleep too."

Cloud felt his cheeks turn pink. _'Why am I blushing? Why did she say it like that?! Doesn't she know that it sounds like...'_ He shook his head, trying to forget his train of thought. He looked to Kohaku, who's breathing was already even and slow, meaning she was asleep. Cloud let out a sigh. He wished Kohaku would just leave him. But even if he yelled at her, hurt her, and ran from her, he knew she'd stay.

She was too stubborn for her own good...


	5. Chapter 5

A/N – Why are people even reading this? It sucks.

* * *

"Hey Kohaku, your turn to keep watch" Cloud whispered as he shook her arm. She sat up and yawned. "Got it." she said sleepily. He chuckled and laid on the blanket he brought. Within minutes he was asleep. Kohaku let out another long yawn and put a log in the fire to keep it going.

The girl stretched and looked up at the sky through the tall trees. It would be about 5 or 6 hours until the sun would be up. She look her small teapot from her bag, added water and tea leaves to it, and put it in the fire toward the edge. Cloud wasn't a tea person, but he got her a small teapot as a birthday gift. She used it so many times that it wasn't shiny silver anymore, but almost black at this point. Tea tasted the same though, so she didn't care.

Once it got hot enough she pulled it out of the fire using a stick and poured some into a cup she brought with her. Letting out a content sigh she leaned on Chika and sipped her tea.

 _'We need to think of somewhere to hide'_ she thought. She pulled out her map, placing it on the ground so the fire's light could illuminate it. _'Midgar is here... And they have allies here... Enemies here...'_

Kohaku froze as soon as it hit her. That was it! Radiant Garden wasn't an enemy of Midgar, but it was surrounded by a few kingdoms that were. And it was far enough that it would take at least 4 weeks to travel from Midgar to there. She also knew about Radiant Garden's strict security around the area that knight's families and rich households were located. There was only two ways to get in there: Show your family's crest, or have a pin that had the knight's symbol on it. Both were made with a specific metal found only in the caves of Radiant Garden that reacted a certain way to magic.

And Kohaku just happened to have a knight's pin because her father was a knight.

* * *

Cloud and Kohaku both groaned as they had their head's on the table of a small cafe. Cloud wasn't a morning person, and Kohaku was just tired as hell from staying up. The table was under awning right in front of the post they had their chocobos tied to. "Here are your drinks" the waitress happily announced as she placed coffee in front of Cloud and tea in front of Kohaku. "Thanks" they both groaned in unison. The waitress walked away and they both sat up and sipped their drinks.

"So, I looked over the map last night" Kohaku started. She placed her cup down and took out her map from her pocket, spreading it on the table. She pointed to Radiant Garden and explained the plan. Cloud sipped his coffee again as he thought. "Sounds good. It's gonna take us about 2 weeks to get there though. Not sure if we have enough funds."

"I'm sure we can find a few jobs. I mean, we're mercenaries after all." she stated. In order to earn money for herself, Kohaku had started taking jobs as well. She did fairly well on her own.

Cloud nodded as Kohaku put her map away. "By the way" he added, causing her to look at him. "You never mentioned your father was a knight. Actually... You never even told me your last name."

She tilted her head. "I didn't? Well, it is out of habit I guess. Dad told me to never let anyone know I was the daughter of a knight because I might get kidnapped or something. I guess I just forgot" she explained. "By the way, my last name is Ume. So my full name is Kohaku Ume. Huh... Sounds weird to say my full name..."

He chuckled. The waitress came over and handed them their food. "Here you go guys!" she chirped happily. They both thanked her and she went to go talk to the other patrons. "That woman is way too happy" Kohaku commented before shoving a piece of food in her mouth. "Agreed" Could nodded.

"Excuse me, Miss!" a man called out as he walked over to their table. They both looked at him. He was tall and skinny, and wore a purple and gold outfit that matched his lavender/silver-ish hair and dark purple eyes. His face was covered in various scars. The man stopped in front of their table. "Miss, I think you'd be perfect for my-"

"Not interested." she cut him off.

"Miss, I'm Setzer, and I'm the owner of the arena in these parts. We hold contests there every 3 months. And today is the annual woman's only tournament. The prize is 10,000 Gil." he said. Kohaku and Cloud looked at each other. That was more than enough money to get to Radiant Garden. She looked at Setzer. "I'm listening" she said. He smiled. "You see, one of the contestants had to drop out before we even began due to a pregnancy, so I'm short a girl. And you seem like a vigorous young woman. So how about it?" he explained.

This guy seemed like a bit of a creep, but she pushed aside the thought. If she won, they wouldn't have no worry about cash the entire way there. And if he tried to con her, she'd kick his sorry purple ass.

"I'm in." she told him. "And my name is Kohaku."

"Wonderful!" he clapped. He told her where the arena was then turned around. He looked back before adding. "And wear something nice. The men who watch would hate to see a girl dressed so covered up." Setzer walked away and Kohaku continued eating.

"I figured I'd have to get dressed up or something." she mumbled. She knew this whole 'show-skin' thing was just fanservice to men watching. She didn't really care about that shit. Her problem was that she had to actually buy something that was girl-ish.

Though if it meant earning the money they needed, she'd be willing to even dress up as a damn chocobo in order to do so.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N – A typical tournament-like arc because why not

* * *

Cloud sat in the crowd as he watched people enter the arena. There were a total of 24 woman, some of them more buff than most men in the audience. How this was a turn on for some guys Cloud could never understand (nor would he want to.)

He saw Kohaku walk out. She was dressed in a blue Chinese styled dress with gold accents, black shorts under that, and black boots that went up to her knees. She wore her belt with her sword's sheath like with all her outfits, but he also noticed she had on the black gloves with materia slots on them that he had given her a few years back.

 _'She's definitely prepared.'_ he thought, proud of his student.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 12th annual woman's only battle competition!" Setzer announced into a short wand. He used magic to project his voice into several boxes that hung in the stands. The crowd cheered and Cloud rolled his eyes. He just wanted the tournament to start already. Screw the announcements.

Setzer went over all the woman's names and something about them. Cloud could hear a few men called out to some of the girls as Setzer introduced them. Eventually, he got to Kohaku.

"And last but not least we have Kohaku! She's 18 years old and a mercenary. She's a mysterious lady who hasn't shared much about herself or her fighting style, so we'll have to wait and see what secrets she has up her sleeves!"

This seemed to rile up the crowd and they cheered. Cloud got pissed when he heard some men near him talk about the kinds of things they'd do to Kohaku if they had their chance with her. He'd pull out his buster sword and threaten them until they shit themselves, but he didn't want to get thrown out or get Kohaku in trouble.

Cloud didn't notice when two men sat on their side of him. "So, that's your pupil huh?" a somewhat familiar voice said. The blonde turned to look at who said it. The man on his left had vivid red hair, tied into a ponytail in the back, had red tattoos on his cheeks, a pair of goggles on his head, and a black suit.

Shit... It's Reno...

He looked on the right side of him to see Axel, Reno's twin and partner. He looked much like his twin, however his eyes were green instead of blue, his tattoos were different, and his hair was a spiky mess.

Cloud instantly knew something was going to go down. These two were Turks, Midgar's special knights who were sent out for very important investigations. And if they were looking for someone... That someone wasn't going to last long.

The blonde man remained calm. They wouldn't attack with this many people watching. "Yeah, that's my student" he confirmed. He knew they already knew. They probably spoke to Sephiroth beforehand. Axel yawned. "She's not much to look at. I mean, she's got some nice hips and a cute butt, but she has below average tits..."

"Come on Bro, don't be so picky" Reno joked. He knew it was pissing off Cloud.

While they had been talking, the first battle started and ended. The one woman had to be carried out, and the other one wasn't in very good shape either.

Kohaku and a blonde woman came out. The woman had a slicked back hairstyle, with the exception of 2 bits of hair that stood up. Axel chuckled as he saw the two females. "Larxene's gonna beat the shit out of her."

"I can't believe how easy it was to bribe the owner into getting Larxene in and putting her against your girl Cloud." Reno added.

Cloud crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. He had to admit, it was a smart move on their part. Kohaku could be attacked in front of everyone, and no one would interfere. And if he did someone was garenteed to stop him. She could get hurt, or worse, in plain view for everyone to see.

But he wasn't worried. He had faith in his student.

* * *

Kohaku stepped onto the battle area that was outlined with red paint. She looked at her opponent. A skinny woman with slicked back hair and two bits sticking up. She wore a long black dress with a slit on the side and high heels. She looked like a damn bug.

 _'That outfit is a horrible choice'_ Kohaku thought and she grabbed the hilt of her sword. _'That dress is could restrict her movement and those heels might end up tripping her.'_

"Hey Kid, you can forfeit any time you know" the woman rudely remarked. Kohaku cracked her neck, attempting to look intimidating. "I don't plan on it Lady" she countered. If she remembered correctly, this woman was Larxene, and she was good with knives and lightning attacks.

"You sure? It would be a lot easier for me to just arrest you instead of beating you into submission" the bug-looking woman said. Kohaku glared at her. Whoever she was, she had the same goal as Sephiroth. Except this time, Kohaku was also the target. Not that she cared much about that.

Setzer shot the starting gun and Kohaku drew her sword. "Just try it bitch" she retorted. Larxene smirked and took out several knives. Before Kohaku knew it the woman hurled 5 at her. She blocked all of them with her blade. To Kohaku's surprise, Larxene did the same thing, and Kohaku blocked them again. Really? Two of the same attacks?

"Heh... This is too easy" Larxene grinned. She snapped her fingers and one of the knives that stuck into the ground began to glow. Kohaku looked around her and quickly realized what happened. The knives landed right side up in a circle around her, and all of them started to glow and crackle with electricity.

Kohaku only had a split second to act as she sheathed her sword and took out a coin. She tossed it in the air just as the lightning trap went off. Sparks flew above her and hit the coin instead. The audience bellowed with excitement at the move that was just pulled. Kohaku quickly jumped out of the knife circle as soon as the magic charge was gone. The coin, now melted and disformed, fell to the ground.

"You fucking brat!" Larxene hissed. The shorter girl took her sword back out and attacked Larxene, swinging at her from every direction she could. The woman dodged all of the girl's attacks, picking up her knives as she did so.

Kohaku managed to get a hit on her, barely. She was only able to cut her upper torso. A sudden shiek from her opponent made her jump. She looked at the other woman.

The blonde's top and bra were the only things cut open, and her breasts were exposed...

The men in the crowd went nuts and cheered Kohaku on. She just mumbled out a quiet. "Oops..." as Larxene went into a blind rage. The woman covered her chest with one arm. Her face was a shade of crimson and she screamed, "You're going to pay for that!"

The older woman cloaked her body in a layer of electricity and began swiping at Kohaku furiously with her knives. Kohaku dodged all of her attacks. She knew blocking would probably result in her getting electrocuted.

Larxene began shooting lightning at her. She barely dodged the first one. But some of the electricity got to the sword and ran up Kohaku's arm. She winced at the pain and dropped her weapon. The girl regained her composure just in time to avoid another lightning attack.

As Larxene threw more and more lighting at her that she avoided, Kohaku slipped out two brown materia from her dress and put them in the slots of her gloves. Her sword wasn't going to help her, and a knife expert would be able to dodge knives easily. So her gloves were her last resort.

She focused her mana into her gloves and charged at Larxene. The woman swiped at her with her knives. However, Kohaku's aim wasn't at her, but the ground under her. She ducked under the bug woman's knives and punched the ground right in front of her. In a split second a pillar of stone shot out of the ground, launching Larxene into the air. She landed on the pillar on her back. Kohaku cringed as the heard the woman's bones snap.

Setzer shot out a gunshot, signaling the end of the battle. "And the winner is Kohaku! Despite Larxene's electric magic, Kohaku's victory was 10 times more shocking!"

Kohaku rolled her eyes at his lame joke while the crowd cheered. She picked up her sword from the ground and returned it to her side. A few doctors rushed over and Larxene was taken away in a stretcher. Setzer motioned to Kohaku to follow him, and she did.

* * *

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Axel screamed in anger. "She actually fucking beat Larxene?!"

Cloud smirked. He knew Kohaku would win. Swordsmanship wasn't her only skill. What Kohaku lacked in strength, she made up for in ingenuity. Using earth materia against a lightning nymph was brilliant.

Reno was clearly pissed as well. "That little bitch..." he growled. Not only did Kohaku defeat Larxene, but she probably crippled her as well. That pillar more than likely snapped the woman's spine. Meaning she wouldn't be able to fight anymore.

"My student isn't a pushover" Cloud told them.

* * *

A/N 2 – After doing some research, I found out that lightning isn't exactly attracted to metal objects. In fact it probably wouldn't have hit that coin. I can't think of anything to put in place of that so let's just say magic electricity is attracted to metal ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	7. Chapter 7

A/N – When I first wrote this tournament arc thing it was only going to be Kohaku vs Larxene and would skip to the final battle. Buuuuuuuuuuut I decided to insert more. So this is new shit right here.

* * *

Setzer lead Kohaku inside the building. It was decorated with mainly light and dark purples and was mostly empty. "That was impressive Kohaku." he complimented. "I'm sure you're tired after that fight."

Kohaku rubbed her shoulder where the electricity hit her. It still felt sore. Not to mention her body ached from dodging so much. But, sitting down for awhile should take care of that.

"I'll be fine" she answered. "When the next fight starts in a few hours I should be good to go."

The man chuckled. "You won't be fighting again until tomorrow. Didn't I mention that this takes a few days?"

Kohaku gave him a look of annoyance. All he did was show up, tell her where to be, and left it at that. "No, you didn't." she growled, attempting to hide the anger in her voice.

Setzer tilted his head. "I didn't? Oh well. But don't worry about lodgings. There are rooms for contestants here in the arena. I've saved two for you and your...male companion..."

She let out a groan. "Fine. Whatever..." she huffed. She wanted to get this done and over with in one day, but a free place to sleep was a decent trade off.

* * *

"Good. Now, I should get back to my job." he said, walking back outside.

Cloud went to stand up, but felt the cold sting of metal against his throat. He glanced over at Axel, who had his chakrams out. The point of one of them was pressed against his neck. "Not so fast, Strife. You have something we want. If you be a good boy and hand it over, we'll make sure your death is painless." Reno cautioned.

The blonde kicked Axel's legs and he fell forward, grazing Cloud's neck with the blade of his chakram. He took out his buster sword before Reno could act, swinging and knocking him over with the flat side of it.

Axel got up, throwing one of his chakrams. The round bladed weapon flew past Cloud into the crowd. A loud, horrible slash could be heard as a man got a few of the pointy ends of the weapon lodged into this head. People nearby screamed in terror at the sight. Some got blood all over them. Some, however, went after Axel and Reno in an attempt to restrain them.

Cloud weaved through the crowd and took off towards the nearest exit, leaving the two red headed Turks to the crowd of people who were probably going to make sure they were put in prison, or worse. He could hear Reno screaming to Axel about how "he knew he should've brought Rude instead of his moronic ass."

When Cloud found Kohaku, she was outside tending to their chocobos. He grabbed her shoulder, causing her to yelp and drop the Gysahl greens she was feeding to the birds. "We gotta go, now" he told her. "Now?" she repeated, picking up the fallen food. "But what about the tournament?"

"More of those Midgar bastards are after us. It's not safe here." he said, then explained what happened. Kohaku sighed and pet Chika's break. "Cloud I know it's a bit risky but we should finish this. 10,000 Gil will last us the entire trip. If we leave now it's going to be really hard to earn money later on."

"But are you sure you're going to win? I mean, some of these woman are beasts. If you lose we're kinda screwed out of money and time." he argued.

She crossed her arms. "Cloud, I'm gonna win. I'm your student remember?"

He let out a sigh. There was no arguing with the girl. "Okay fine. We'll stay. Hopefully those red-headed jackasses won't be out of jail until then. According to what I heard, these things last 3 days. The first day takes the longest, then there are two battles the next day, and the final battle the day after that. If we're lucky, we'll be able to finish up and get out of here before the Turks can bail them out and come after us."

Kohaku nodded. She knew he didn't like the idea of staying. But she was positive she had a good chance of winning. She'd push herself to her limits and then some to defeat whoever she needed to.

* * *

The morning wasn't very pleasant. Between the other female contestants getting passive-aggressive as soon as they saw each other and the ridiculously expensive food that the arena's restaurant had, Kohaku wasn't in a very good mood.

It didn't help that some of the women mocked her for wearing the same outfit she wore yesterday. Kohaku and Cloud agreed on one thing: If it's not filthy, it's okay to keep wearing it until it is. In certain situations, clean clothes weren't required.

Besides she only had 1 dress.

So she tried her best to ignore the women who teased her. She'd get back at 2 of them at least.

As she waited, Kohaku looked around the waiting area her and the others were in. The room didn't have the same purple color scheme the rest of the building had. Instead it was a light grey color.

She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. There wasn't much else to do. They weren't allowed to watch the other fights. Setzer's reasoning was that they would be able to come up with a strategy against the other contestants and someone would be at a disadvantage. And that was fair reasoning. But damn, waiting was boring.

"Hey" a voice greeted her. Kohaku looked at who spoke. A tall woman was standing in front of her. Her hair was a dark silver and was styled to took upright. She was wearing a black chop top with sleeves that were below her shoulders. Her midsection was covered in red and black belts that attached her top to her black shorts. The sides of said shorts had small red belts attached, which brought attention to her red eyes. She also had on black boots and stockings, which also had small red belts on it. Her entire outfit had various silver pieces to it.

The woman one of the few that didn't comment about her re-use of her clothing. Though, she did look intimidating.

She crossed her arms and leaned on the wall next to Kohaku. "This waiting sucks. They could've given us something to do. Even a deck of cards would be better than just sitting on our asses." she complained.

"Y-Yeah." Kohaku agreed. This lady didn't sound as intimidating as she had expected. In fact she seemed really cool. She was probably in a bad mood. Or had resting-bitch-face.

"So, um... My name is Kohaku. What's yours?" Kohaku asked.

"Paine."

"Paine? Did your parents think you were a 'paine' in the butt?"

Kohaku instantly regretted making the horrible joke.

But to her surprise, Paine started giggling. "Well they did but that's not why they named me that." she replied.

The two talked for awhile before Paine had to excuse herself. A few minutes later the door to the room opened up and a man peaked in. He turned to someone else who was behind the door and said "Only one of them is here. Could you go find the other one?"

After that the man turned back into the room. "Kohaku you're up" he announced. Kohaku got up and left, walking to the fighting area. She assumed that whoever she had to fight wasn't in the room. Though it didn't bother her as long as the next person she had to fight wasn't someone from the Midgar kingdom again trying to kill her.

Once she got there she stood on one end and waited. Setzer was getting the audience worked up, more than likely as a way to stall for the contestant that was late. A minute later, Kohaku's opponent walked out.

And it was Paine...

"Damn... I actually didn't want to fight you. You seem like a good kid." Paine said. She stretched she arms before drawing her sword. "Yeah... I would've preferred to beat up one of those other girls" Kohaku agreed. She also drew her sword, placing a fire materia in it's slot.

"Oh well. Not much we can do now." The red eyed woman shrugged.

"Well at least I'll be a good fight."

"Yeah, but don't be upset when you lose okay?"

"I was about to tell you the same thing."

Paine charged at her, swinging her sword from the side. Although she was quite fast, Kohaku was able to block her. Their swords bounced off each other and flew back. Paine swiped at her faster than she could block, but Kohaku was able to shift backwards enough to avoid taking any serious injury. But she did get cut on her stomach.

"Ah fuck!" Kohaku cursed. The damage hurt like hell. It felt like she had gotten impaled. She looked down to see the extent of the damage.

And she was shocked to find that it was just a scratch. The cut was no worse than tripping and cutting your knee on some thorns.

So why did it hurt so much?

Kohaku snapped out of thought when Paine continued to attack. She not only dodged, but kept a fair distance from the woman's strange weapon.

As she avoided getting cut again her mind was racing. Could it have been poison? If so could it kill her? Or perhaps magic? What kind of magic did that? Or did she mistake the injury as lighter than it really was.

Another cut brought her back from her thoughts. This time it was her leg on her thigh. The pain was just as intense as before and she let out a pained groan. The sore burning in her upper leg began to slow her down. So she was forced to block all of Paine's attacks.

What the hell was going on?

* * *

Cloud was able to get a better seat this time to watch the fights. This time he could see much better. When his pupil got hurt the first time, he was confused. Her opponent's sword had just grazed her. Yet he could see the huge amount of pain on her face.

Kohaku could take hits. He knew that much. He trained her to be able to fight through mass amounts of pain. So what was wrong?

He closely observed the taller woman's sword the best he could. The metal was black, and that wasn't much to go by. But at certain angles the sword's reflection had a red tint. The sun hit it and the light that was there wasn't bright. It was like it was the blade was covered in a thin layer of red stained glass.

And then it hit him.

He had only come across it one other one other time. It was a cursed sword. He didn't know the full process of creating one, but he knew a few things. In order to create one, a person needs to put a piece of their soul into a black sword. A certain spell must be used in order to activate the soul piece's power, which is different from user to user. And the sword was only "cursed" if it was being used by the same person who's soul was in it.

He started feeling worried about her. Whatever that sword's power was, it wasn't good. There's only so much pain a person can take, and Kohaku was no different.

* * *

Kohaku had barely avoided getting cut again from Paine's rapid attacks. She needed to attack. But she dreaded taking the offensive in case Paine managed to get a good shot at her. But at this rate she'd get tired from blocking.

Paine swung at her again. Kohaku knocked her sword to the side, leaving the older woman open. Quickly, Kohaku charged mana into her sword. The fire materia caused it to ignite. Orange and red magic flames surrounded the blade. She attacked. Paine dodged the blade, but the flames reached her. The flames burnt her shoulder quite a bit, enough that her skin was a shade of dark red. The woman let out a hiss and got ready to attack again.

Kohaku got in another hit. This time Paine's arm. The cut went from her elbow to a few inches near her wrist. The cut was fairly deep. Paine almost dropped her sword and held back a scream. Kohaku felt bad. It must've really hurt.

Suddenly Kohaku felt a horrible pain in her side. She jumped back. Looking at her side she saw quite a bit of blood. Paine had gotten her in the side.

The cut was deep. And the pain was worse than anything Kohaku had ever felt before. Her vision was starting to blurr a bit, and she was in so much pain her body refused to move.

 _'I need to do something... If I don't I'll lose...'_ She thought.

She focused. The pain was impossibe to ignore, but she was able to fight off the dizziness. She summoned every bit of her mana into her sword. Her legs were beginning to feel weak. She swung her sword at Paine. A huge wave of flames came from the blade, getting larger as they traveled.

Paine hardly had any time to react. She summoned a barrier to block the flames. But the wall of fire had so much force that it sent Paine flying backward. She hit the wall of the arena, hard. Blood dripped down her forehead, and she fell to the ground out cold.

Kohaku stuck her sword in the ground and leaned on it to support herself. The pain in her side was still eating at her. The other cuts seemed to have gotten better. Just what the hell was causing all the pain?

"And the winner is Kohaku!" Setzer announced, his voice projecting through the magic boxes set up around the arena. The crowd cheered. Paine let out a groan and sat up, rubbing her head. "Shit... I lost?" she said to herself. Kohaku took a deep breath before standing up. The pain was beginning to die down. She put her sword away and walked over to Paine, holding out her hand. "That was a pretty close fight." She stated. Paine smiled and took the younger woman's hand. "Yeah, I was pretty close to winning."

Kohaku helped her opponent to her feet. "I'll say. Let's go see the healer before we both pass out huh?" she suggested. Paine nodded and the two of them left the fighting area.

* * *

"I'm glad that you have 2 fights in one day but jeez... You look like shit..." Cloud commented. Kohaku sipped her drink. "I'll be fine in time for the next fight. I drank a potion so I should be as good as new in a few hours." She retorted.

"Don't push yourself okay?" He told her. "The last thing we need is to pay for a doctor."

"I think our main concern should be getting away from any knights of Midgar. As long as I'm well enough to travel we don't need a doctor" she replied.

He finished his coffee. "As much as I apprciate you toughing it out, that kind of thinking is no good." He said. "Besides, I worry about you, you know."

A sudden crash got both their attention. Simultaniously they grabbed their weapons on instinct and looked to where the noise came from. A muscular woman was yelling at a shorter, thin girl. The shorter girl had blonde hair with red at the ends. She also had red eyes that matched that. She was wearing a simple red dress that reached her knees and black heels. The muscular woman was enraged, and by the look of it had broken one of the many gold and white vases that were all over the room.

"You know something? Without your fucking magic you couldn't even beat a 5 year old. You act all high and mighty but you're just a weak little-"

The woman was cut off as the air in the room suddenly got colder, freezing in fact. Small specks of snow formed around the woman. The flakes seemed to be floating still in the air. Within seconds the flakes grew into large ice shards. Then they came down on the woman, impaling her several times. Most people nearby paniced and ran out. Others just went about their business.

It was obvious by both the amount of blood on the floor and where the ice shards hit that the woman was dead. "We're leaving now-" Cloud said, but Kohaku had already stormed over to the girl who the now dead woman had gotten into a fight with. The blonde girl looked at Kohaku. He face had no emotion at all. Kohaku gave the girl a sharp slap across the cheek. Some of the people nearby gasped and the blonde looked at her in shock.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Kohaku shouted. "You killed someone over a few shitty insults?!"

The blonde glared at her. "So what? That bitch was pissing me off" she spat.

Kohaku balled up her fists. "That's no reason to kill her! I mean, she was probably a bitch, but she didn't even lay a finger on you!"

"Get out of my face."

"Lady it doesn't matter how mad you are. Killing someone for a petty reason like that... You're a monster!"

The last comment made the blonde girl freeze in shock. Kohaku noticed that and before she could continue to lecture her a hand grabbed the younger girl's shoulder and pulled her back. "Okay that's enough" the familiar voice of her swordmaster said in a harsh tone.

Cloud pulled her away from the other girl. "You're way too young to be lecturing people. Let's go find you something else to wear that isn't ripped up."

Kohaku turned around to argue but Cloud just pushed her along, leaving the blonde female in her quiet state.

He had heard rumors from people in the arena about the dual hair colored witch named "Kris". And if any of those rumors were true... Kohaku might end up getting hurt badly.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Another unplanned thing_

* * *

Kris hated a lot of people.

She hated those jealous people who would insult her and attempt to belittle her.

She hated those who would follow her around like lost puppies in an attempt to try to get her attention.

But mostly, she hated her father who made her this way.

"Be quiet and behave."

That was what her father would tell her in almost any situation. He told her that when she went off to school. He told her that when guests were at the manor. He told her that when she wanted to do something he hated.

He told her that when he'd use her for magic experiments...

Her father, known as the famous "Chilly Academic," Vexen, was more of a scientist than a mage or wizard as his title implied. Though his experiments were magic based, he himself barely used magic. It wasn't that he couldn't. In fact he was highly skilled in ice magic. He just preferred to use his brain over his mana.

Kris didn't remember when it started. But it was a long time ago when her father decided to use her for human experimentation. Sadly, no one knew, so no one would stop him.

She was filled with chemicals, put under extreme tests, and tortured often. If her mother was still around, she would've prevented it. Her mother went missing when she was young. And more than likely, was subjected to the same treatment she was and died as a result.

After years of this, Vexen got results.

In every person, there's a limit to the magic they can use. This limit can be pushed further with practice, but there would always be a limit. And forcing themselves past that limit would damage the person.

However, he managed to remove this limit from his daughter.

She no longer had a mana limit. She could use it as much as she wanted. It took her awhile to learn magic enough to control it, but she did. And then she created her own spells. She was smart and talented enough to do so.

And eventually, she used that magic to free herself...

* * *

"Killing someone for a petty reason like that... You're a monster!"

The smaller girl that yelled that at Kris gave her a look of anger. Kris didn't say a word, thinking for a moment as a tall blonde man dragged the enraged girl away and lectured her.

She was a monster?

She shook herself back to reality and left, leaving the corpse of the dead woman.

Kris stormed back to her room, slamming the door behind her. She flopped onto the bed. She grabbed a pillow and screamed into it out of anger. That dark haired brat pissed her off. Her? A monster? How was she a monster?! People kill others all the time for different reasons. That girl had no idea what a monster was like. Her father was a real monster.

Her father didn't care about what happened to Kris. She had come close to death a few times and the man hardly ever blinked an eye. That heartless bastard never cared about another person's life. To him, everyone was worthless.

And that thought made her pause. Her father was a monster because he didn't care about lives. And she killed someone who just insulted her. Was she becoming like her father?

Kris got so much abuse from others, she became merciless. People tried to kill her, beat her, and nearly burnt her house down. So it was natural that she would be hard on them. But maybe... She went too far this time.

Setzer would cover up the murder as an accident during a fight. Everyone knew there was some chance to die during these. And he's done that before.

And this would be the last time.

* * *

"Cloud why did you stop me from yelling at her? What she did was wrong!" Kohaku huffed at the man, who was currently dragging her outside.

He finally let go of her arm. "Because you could've gotten hurt. Or worse. You saw what that girl did!" he raised his voice in anger, which was something he rarely did toward his pupil these days. She didn't argue and stayed silent. Arguing with his when he was this mad was something she tried to refrain from doing.

He let out a sigh. "Listen, I just didn't want anything to happen to you okay?" he told her. "I know you're pretty tough, but you can't use magic that well, and that puts you at a disadvantage to people who are purely magic users. You need to learn to assess a situation and figure out just how dangerous it is. You always go headfirst into situations and one day that's going to get you killed."

The girl looked at the ground. She knew what he said was _kinda_ true, as much as she wanted to argue against it. She did rush into things... sometimes...

"I worry about you, you know." he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her. He didn't want to lose someone he was close to again...

"Hey, I think I can sew up these rips." she stated, looking over the damage to her dress. She had a needle and thread in her bag. And it didn't have to look perfect. Just good enough to get her though the rest of the contest.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at the statement. "Wait, you know how to sew? Since when?" he questioned. Over the years they've been living together, he'd learned that she disliked girly things and hobbies that wasn't needed.

"Tifa taught me how to sew, a little. She mentioned that fixing clothes would be easier than buying new ones, so I asked her to teach me how to." she replied.

"Heh... I should've known you'd learn that just to save money" Cloud chuckled. He was somewhat careful with money, and that habit rubbed off on Kohaku.

"I'm going to go fix this before the next fight." she told him, going back inside and toward her room. She paused in the hallway as soon as she saw Kris in front of her. Their eyes locked onto each other. Kohaku held back from gripping the hilt of her weapon. She expected the older female to attack or lash out at her in some form. She half expected to be set on fire.

But the blonde didn't do anything. She looked at the younger girl with a face that showed something that wasn't rage. Sadness, maybe? If it was she was trying to hide it.

Kris walked past her, and went on her way. Thank goodness she wasn't still mad at Kohaku. Honestly, she didn't know how she'd even go about fighting her...

* * *

Kris' mind wasn't in the fight. Not that it mattered much. Her opponent's attacks could easily be blocked with a simple barrier spell. The girl with orange pigtails, "Vanillie" or something, seemed to be having fun to matter what, despite every attack from her multi-whip weapon being useless.

The witch could easily defeat this girl. But, Setzer preferred if she dragged fights out for a bit to keep people in suspense since 'people won't pay that much to see a fight that lasts less than 5 minutes. So Kris had time to kill.

The blonde girl tried to remember when her attitude changed. When did she start to turn into her father? Moreover, how does she change? The last question may sound like the easiest to answer, but when she has so much running through her mind it's not easy to figure out.

A sharp string to her leg got her out of her thoughts. She backed up out of the girl's range and checked the side of her leg. A cut, and a pretty bad one at that. Her face turned a light shade of red as anger arose. She considered using ice shards to impale the cheery opponent, but stopped. That was a horrible idea.

"Sorry about that!" Vanillie called out. Her tone didn't sound mocking and seemed completely genuine. But it's a fight, why was she saying sorry? "Um... That's okay?" Kris responded.

Deciding enough time had passed, the blonde began to plan out her attack. The orange haired girl seemed agile, so tripping her would be the best option.

Vanillie attacked her. Kris was able to dodge. But she felt something tug her leg forward, causing her to start to fall backward. She was able to flip backwards and land on her feet. Looking down she saw one of the whips had wrapped around her leg. That girl was trying to trip her?

Kris used wind magic to create a small, sharp gust of air that moved fast enough to cut the whip. Vanillie let out a slight whine. "Hey... You broke it..." she complained.

"Hey, I had to get it off" Kris countered. She summoned a small fireball in her palm and threw it at the other girl, who dodged it with ease. But that was the plan. Kris used a bit of magic to make a chunk of the ground come up. The other girl tripped and dropped her weapon.

Before Vanillie could get up, vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped around her, restraining her movements. She struggled, but nothing worked. So Setzer ended the match and declared Kris the winner.

The blonde went over to her opponent, making the vines disappear. As Vanillie got up, Kris picked up the girl's weapon and unwrapped the severed whip from her leg, then handed both to her.

"Thanks!" the girl beamed. "That was really fun."

"Um... Yeah. Good fight." Kris replied. Getting a bad cut on her leg wasn't exactly 'fun'. In all honesty, she wished the girl had gotten hurt at least a little as payback for the injury. But the fight was over and attacking the girl now would be wrong...

Vanillie smiled at her. "You're a nice person." she told her. Kris shook her head. "If you've seen the things I've done you wouldn't be saying that."

"You can always change. Something tells me you were always a good person, but you forgot how to be that person."

Before Kris could ask her what the heck she meant, she skipped off. Always been a good person? How is it even possible to forget how to be like that?

* * *

"You're lucky I covered for you... again" Setzer huffed, running a hand through his hair. "If it weren't for the cash you bring in I'd personally get the cops."

"I know." Kris replied, sitting in one of the dark purple chairs in his office. The entire office was elegantly decorated with purple and gold, much like everything else. It really became an eyesore after awhile.

"Thanks to your hissy-fit I had to re-arrange the matches. The usual 3 way final battle has been reduced to a one-on-one fight. Try to drag it out as long as possible. People will complain if the fight is too short." The man said.

Kris shrugged. "Don't I always?" She asked.

"Yeah well, you'll really have to drag it out. Try to take a few hits so it looks like an even fight." He told her.

"Fine" the blonde responded in an annoyed tone. She disliked the idea of making fights look even. She had a reputation for being unbeatable. Making herself look weak ruined that claim.

"The girl you're going to face isn't a good magic user. She can only use magic through her sword and other materia tools. So it will be a quick fight." he informed her. Kris raised an eyebrow. "Wait, how did someone like that make it this far?"

He shrugged. "Apparently she has skill. Or she's really lucky."

Kris stood up from the uncomfortable seat and stretched her arms. "Well let's see if her luck holds" she said, walking toward the door.

She left the office and went back to her room. Picking out an outfit for the next day, she wondered just who she was going to fight. She wasn't able to see the other fights, so matching the skills to a person was impossible.

But no matter what, she'd win. And if by some chance that girl was watching... Kris wanted to prove that she wasn't a monster.

* * *

 _A/N 2: Later inserted chapters with simple plots are done (and I'm sure they're worse quality than the rest of this disaster.) So now I can continue posting the other crud I've written._


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